Brett Yeast Cake Inspiration

Up the Rye, Brett will dry out the body and thin the mouthfeel typically, an increased Rye % (15-30 %) should balance the body out and add a subtle spice note.

I've found late hop additions rather useless in Brett beers, even dry hopped Brett beers lose those volatiles so quickly. The Brett must metabolize those acids or something. For a Saison, I'd do a 60 min bittering addition, maybe a 30 min to add some flavor & bitterness and then dry hop if you want, but after Brett takes the beer down to near 1.000 gravity.

As for the yeast cake, I would imagine the sacch strain cell viability would plummet after months of inactivity at fermentation temps. I think you'd get a lot of off flavors and a rather unhealthy fermentation from this method. Brett has a much longer adaptation or lag phase than sacch, so when you repitch on the cake, the sacch I would imagine would take off quick versus the Brett, but not in a good way related to cell viability.

 

mostly agree.
just to add: mash in close to 150 F.
rye and brett brux are a great pair.
just keep your unfermentables relatively low. saisons and mouthfeel tend to not go hand in hand. i feel that saisons should taste and feel more wine-like than beer-like. crisp, dry. that's why you see table sugar added to most saison recipes - ups the alcohol, dries the beer out.
keep the IBUs low.

re-pitch sacc. assume most of what you have in that yeastcake is not viable.

 

Mostly agree.

I would not keep the IBUs too low though, BU:GU in the .6 range. I have had too many Saisons (even with Brett) that have lower IBUs and they are flabby and don't finish with the bite that a Saison should have.

 

as long as one remembers that IBU perception's amplified with brett and they bitter accordingly, then all is good.
don't aim for an IBU of 30 and be disappoints when it's too bitter.

but yeah. party on!

 

How do people "save" the yeast cake for later use? After I bottled my first batch I noticed the cake and was curiouis.


Thanks.